No Explanation Needed
by BeautifulKnight
Summary: 'Michelle cursed herself for not realizing it sooner.' A short little ficlet where Michelle finds out about Peter's... extracurricular activities and comforts him in the aftermath of the events of Infinity War. Thougtfullness with some good ol' angst/drama? (difference?) and a bit of fluff at the end. Disclaimer: I don't own any Avengers characters... last I checked. Enjoy!


Michelle cursed herself for not realizing it sooner.

She'd had her suspicions about Peter Parker for a while. The disappearances, lame excuses, and emotional flip-flops definitely intrigued her; but she'd never been able to put a finger on what, exactly, was going on with him. MJ sometimes wondered why she was so interested in Peter's life, but would quickly assure herself that he wasn't normal and that was really all the reasoning she needed. That was the only reason, she swore.

Then, one day in April of her junior year, it all clicked. She saw that giant, mechanical ring in the sky and felt fear rise in her stomach. She remembered the Chitauri all too well, how they'd destroyed her apartment and… she'd never asked, but she suspected that they were the reason Peter's parents were dead. Long story short, she didn't want more aliens in New York, and this thing definitely looked extra-terrestrial. She twisted back forwards in the bus seat, staring blankly at the head of the bus driver in front of her, and tried to compose herself, tried to stop her hands from shaking. _Deep breaths…_

Suddenly, from behind her, Ned's voice yelled, "We're all gonna die!" Goddamnit Ned.

She heard the pounding of many pairs of feet behind her, as the students on the bus followed Ned to the back, presumably to look more closely at the alien ship. She rolled her eyes, wishing she could come up with some snarky remark to yell at him, but she was still more scared than she would like to admit. Then she heard it, a sound slightly louder than the excited rambling of the students at the back, a noise that started with thwip and ended in a thud that sounded like an impact.

Oh god, Michelle really hoped the aliens hadn't already started invading… her head whirled around, and in front of her yelling classmates was… a web strand? She barely got a good look before it was pulled taut, on the emergency exit door she realized, and a familiar head of hair was jumping out of it. She blinked in astonishment as her… classmate was _clinging to the side of the bus._ Peter Parker, wearing a face filled with focus and determination the likes of which she had never seen on him before used his free hand to pull on a red mask, reached into the bus for his backpack, and flung himself over the side of the bridge.

No way. Michelle simply could not process it for a while. There she sat, mind racing as she stared blankly at the bus's side mirror, hoping to catch a glimpse of Peter Parker again. She stayed there as the kids behind her gradually returned to her seat, she stayed there as phone calls were made, she almost stayed there after the bus had parked before telling herself sternly that she had to move. Apparently, alien spaceships qualified as "day-off" material as her mom was there to pick her up. They went home, and in their basement, Michelle thought through the explosions, the fearful screams, and the frantic news alerts on her phone.

Peter Parker wasn't at school the next day.

Or the next week.

Or the week after that.

May had apparently told Ned that Peter was sick, and when pushed, Ned didn't really elaborate. Michelle knew why.

So when Michelle sees Peter three Mondays after his bus escapade and he looks tired and sounds out-of-it, and his eyes have lost that innocent puppy-dog look, and he suddenly leaves the lunch table, she follows him. She follows him and leaves Ned's uncertain gaze behind her. MJ finds him in the bathroom. And she doesn't hesitate to pull his shaking form into her arms. Together, they sit on the tiled floor in the third stall, as silent tears drip onto her shoulder. When he finally recovers enough, and he asks her in a shaking voice "why?", she surprises herself and just wraps her arms around him even tighter.


End file.
